warm and exciting because we have the pricing -- the writer -- the brighter love glories and midnight sun sailtime we've learned to on time, we've change the meaning of , ageless and ever ever green ♪

singing] ♪

[choir sings a cappella] ♪

bells gong]

>> i am the resurrection and the

the lord. he that believe in me, though he were dead, yet shall live. and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. lives that my redeemer and that he shall stand at the , andr-day upon the earth though this body be destroyed, yet shall i see the god -- see god, whom i shall see for myself and my nice shall behold and -- mine eyes shall behold and not a stranger. at to himselfve and no man dies to himself. for if we live, we live to the lord. and if we die, we die to the lord. , orher we live, therefore die, we are the lord's. dead who die in

stays -- says so the spirit, for they rest from their labor. [organ plays] ♪

[choir sings] ♪

♪

♪

>> the lord be with you. let's pray. o god, whose mercies cannot be ourered, except -- accept prayers on behalf of of benjamin and grant him entrance into the land of light and joy and the fellowship of thy saints, through jesus christ thy son and lord, who reigns with you and your spirit as one got now and forever. amen. deal graciously with benjamin's family and friends in their grief. surround them with your love that they might not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness and strength to meet the days to come, through jesus christ our lord. amen.

mr. vice president, mr. justice, mr. secretary, reverend clergy, sally, members of the bradlee gentlemen,ies and how lucky were we? this is washington, the city of big reputations. some of those reputations get and then was responsible for more than a few of those punctures. this is a very large building, but everyone in it, those people whose enormous reputations are undeserved -- [laughter] -- we knew somebody much better than his very large reputation.

even braver, even smarter, much more fun. he had his faults, and if my mother katharine graham were still here, believe me, she could go on a very long time about those. [laughter] but she literally wrote the book about how great ben bradlee was. and it was a very long book. time, what a lucky guy ben was himself. his marriage to sally field up the gossip columns of the rival papers, but -- filled up the gossip columns of the rival papers, but several decades later, we can say, sal, you were the wife of his dreams. all you had to do to make him smile was mention your name, always. he died surrounded by children he loved, and who loved him. then junior, who he loved so editor and author.

marino, who i've known since she was a teenager and whose every visit to ben made him so happy then and afterwards, and dino who is stuck in another country, who i admire so much, and quine, whose daily companion ship lit up his last 33 years. my mother occasionally, perhaps teasingly uses the phrase "male ig" to describe her fellow correspondent. surprise, in one crucial respect he wasn't. take my word for it. in 1963 when kay graham became publisher of the post and andwas the bureau chief two years later the editor of

the post, many men were reduced to blubber i the idea that they were suddenly working for a woman. man they knew was working for a woman, because no other woman was running a large company other than kay graham. at our company had any insecurities about himself, he tended to demonstrate those insecurities around katharine graham. ben, after all those years as a destroyer officer in world war ii, had no insecurities about himself. a greatecognized publisher when he saw one. alwaysdoubting mother second-guessing within minutes the last decision she had made, new for once when she made ben the editor, she had done something great. she knew it by the evidence of her own eyes and she knew it

because every reporter she liked and trusted came and told her so. hired were theen toughest he could find, and that meant they were the toughest critics of ben himself. that was fine with him. those reporters, i hate to say it, mr. justice, would not believe the word of a supreme ath.t justice under o the post staff could be fairly described as hard-bitten. they were a crew of men and heroes,o proudly had no but he was our hero. bradlee, and he will be always.

>> reading from the book of ecclesiastes. for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, and a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to throw way stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to seek and a time to lose, a time to time to throw way, time to tear and a time to

and time to keep silence the time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, time for war and a time for peace. what gain have the workers from their toil? i have seen the business that god has given to everyone to be busy with. he has made everything suitable for it's time, moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds yet they cannot find out what god has done from the beginning to the end. the word of the lord. >> tanks be to god. -- thanks be to god. >> good morning. my generation considers the 26 years of ben bradlee's run of

as washington post newsroom our golden age of journalism. ,e was the greatest motivator most enthusiastic cheerleader as we needed, and the best protector a reporter to ask for. there was nothing better than ben coming to your desk the morning you beat the "new york times" and getting a bradlee verbal pat on the back. i can't repeat what he said here. [laughter] ben wrote that he had been given ringside seats to some of the 20th century's most vital moments. and lucky us, we were right there with him. post, and others at the

he became more than just our boss. n hired mehe year be from the washington star, he heard that anne and i and our three-month-old son, ward, needed a vacation spot. out of the blue, he offered us a house he had rented at martha's vineyard over labor day week, because he had to get back to the paper. that started a friendship that only grew over the years. married sally, which would make a good movie, in october of 1978, she brought a new sparkle to his life and two hours outside the paper. urs, outside the paper. along with larry stern, we share decades of work next with pleasure thanks to sally and ben.

ben and katharine graham made the post a second family to many of us, but it was ben who every day was the pumping heart of the operation and pushed us with a kind of competitive hunger that was infectious. and to top that solid foundation hamst by ben and the gra that the post continues i hope goes on to greater heights. i once went into his office to ask for a raise. he looked up from the cross proposal he was always doing and said in his best -- crossword puzzle he was always doing it said in his best, gruff tone, "you are to be paying me for all of the fun you are having." [laughter] he was right.

he and i, his friends and hiseagues, -- you and i, friends and colleagues, have a pile of ben golden memories to add to the enormous debt we already owe him for the richness of life he has given us all. ♪

the lord is my shepherd i shall not want me to lie down in green pastures ♪ the lord is my shepherd ♪shall not want [choir sings] ♪

♪

>> a reading from the first letter of paul to the corinthians. if i speak in the tongues of

mortals and of angels but do not have love, i am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if i have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, i am nothing. if i give away all my possessions and if i hand over my body so that i may boast, but do not have love, i gain nothing. love is patient. love is kind. love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. it does not insist on its own way. it is not irritable or resentful. it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,

endures all things. love never ends. but as for prophecies, they will come to an end. as for tongues, they will cease. as for knowledge, it will come to an end. for we know only a part and we but whenonly in part, the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. i spoke likechild a child, i thought like a child, i reasoned like a child. when i became an adult, i put an ays.to my childish w for now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. parti'll -- i know only in . then i will know fully, even as i have been fully known.

and now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. and the greatest of these is love. the word of the lord. >> thanks be to god. >> newspaper, magazine articles, , documentaries, movies about leadership at the post. what is the central part of his character? the part that is different? he was not afraid. on september 23, 1972, i met a

campaign manager by phone about a story and he said he had controlled secret funds for undercover operations such as watergate. responding jesus several times as i read the story. he then proceeded to threaten parts.nt private he said it would get caught in a big, fat ringer. he also said "we will do a story all on you and he hung up the phone. woodward and i did not much observe the chain of command. then interrogated me. i could not tell. did i properly identify myself?

yes. allthen said, put mitchell's comments in the paper , but leave out -- tell the desk it is ok, he said. a top official at the nixon minutes called me a few later to make an appeal that mitchell had been caught in a moment. member and a cabinet so forth. he does not want to show up in the paper like that. to repeat thee appeal. bradley recalled, saying it just oiled down to this question and whether mitchell said it or not. as a identified himself reporter, all my requisites would be satisfied. his comments state in the paper. to be honest, i was frightened.

an official closest to nixon. he said it would get caught in a big, fat ringer. . not normal in the course of business as we knew it. a statement about doing the story was chilling. we know a lot about how they operated. dirty tricks, sabotage, espionage. then did not miss a beat. he was not just cool, but hey, this is a great story. get it in the paper fast. he could not well -- could not wait deskll who stopped by my to ask if i had any more messages for her. [laughter] let's think about this for a minute. when toove in an era many of us are unafraid.

we look for and embrace the safety play. "what will the boss think? do?at will the president i am vulnerable. i better seek comfort in the company and partyline. how do i stay on the main road? an outlandish member -- number of congress now, democrats and inublicans, hold office gerrymandered safe districts, protected as long as they hold the party doctrine, whether left or right. too often here to the lowest common denominator. manufacture as much controversy as can be ginned up. then lived and worked in and on

jan -- in a not gerrymandered world. there was no safe line except the truth. except what was said. what happened. why. context.he no sensationalism. keep digging. 1973, late onin in april might, we learned explodee was about to particularly. nixon's involvement leading the cover-up was indisputable. ongoing wiretapping was widespread. flies could perhaps be in danger. was 2:00 a.m. a hold of somebody from the post immediately. who? we of course decided to go straight to bradley's house. we call them on a pay phone

before we arrived and he said to come on over. when we suggested we talk on the front lawn instead of inside, dan in his jammies and a half and came outaround onto the front lawn and when we started to share details of what we had learned, he had one question. what do we do now? the next day, he mobilize all wherenior editors electronic these chocolate would be unlikely. one of the editors suggested the things that now reached the edge and then said, he was not interested in the logic of it. we have seen a logical things in the last year, he said. to find out what might be true. bradleyd off being because he was not afraid, of

presidents, folio, of political correctness, of publishing the pentagon papers, of possible retribution and the likelihood the government might strike in his newspaper. with all its power. , of makingo war mistakes. on one on -- on long island, seated next to then on his 93rd birthday party. he held my hand at times and he and i talked, about his oldest friends from another washington lawyer,ut fast eddie, a williams, and he shook his head, and their sunday breakfast at the drugstore at wisconsin avenue. and about watergate.

, he said. he struggled with some of the particulars. there was that big, bradley smile. and he looked great. i mean great. and he made >> about sally, who proceeded to cover a couple places away. he seems to be having a kind of memories,avoring some and then he blew the candles out. >> i love this man. for the thousands of us who worked with then, it is not mere -- worth -- worked with him, it is not mere all -- awe.

it is love. the real question is why, because he's both to all of us personally and touched each of us in almost every personal encounter or discussion with then, no matter how fleeting. he made you feel better about yourself. he left you with a feeling not just that he expected you, but that he loved you and he made better and yes, have more fun, not just for , but for him. whether it is a 19-year-old, a summer intern, a beginning reporter in an outer county where he had never visited, or staff.uses of the here, i wanted to list names of people who work for ben, and then my wife wisely reminded me

i would have to read the whole staff directory or portions of it, over 26 years. that youru feel enterprises, whatever they were, were the most important in the world. it might only be for a few seconds, short attention span, you know, you got that. then he did clubs and claimed he never joined one. but he ended up joining the most sought after club ever. club radley. no entrance fee and no membership card. it was aeryone felt privilege to work and live in his orbit. we could feel that way because he never conveyed to us that it was a privilege for him.

this is what he did. as he aged, he never lost to the sweetness or life. for the callous memories of his family -- countless members of his family and for all of us. probably never will be matched. he had the courage of an army, a lien, in all seasons. to beted his newspaper like the navy destroyer he served on an world war ii. leave a roiling and churning lake. wolflike in search of news, gossip, the hidden but emerging truth. he did not observe boundaries.

they work for others. reach out and knock on doors at night, with your arrival unscheduled. those whowere for would miss the moment. he studied the classics in college. it was a mild effort by all accounts. absorbed the central truth about greek heroes. strong, reckless at times, full of doubt and others. successful. tears, as mostt men no longer do. but he cried easily at the come int hint of sorrow a movie or in life. he was in search of the large truth, not just the facts, which he was devoted to, but he was looking for the deep, emotional

struggles he knew were in the great events that were in history. he perceived there was a thin flawed andetween fatal flaw. as a result, he was, with all that sternness and swagger, a forgiving man. human frailty. innocent, unthinking, but unintentional mistake was forgiven. i knew this because i participated into many of the celebrated mistakes during his years at the post. a number of times when we obtained information about top-secret codeword u.s. intelligence programs that provided a degree of security back in the cold war that was almost unimaginable.

the real crown jewels. in the interest of the country's safety, at a time of the cold to publish.ows not he cared deeply about his country. in four decades, i traveled the world with then to bear out the news in vacation or share in countless family holidays. several years, then i were invited to his he got the nixon library in california. -- to speak at the nixon library in california. then was astonished. --ben was astonished. "how do you like them apples?" getting off one of his favorite lines. and adding a second favorite

line "fig about that for a minute." -- >> think about that for a minute." "think about that for a minute." he had no photo id. he pulled out his aarp card. [laughter] tattered and expired. [laughter] he always said, you have to go with what you have. even if it is a low pair. the man was not going to have anything to do with this and he would not even look at then -- at his aarp card. we heard a voice and it sounded like the voice of moses. it was vernon jordan.

[laughter] maybe you know the voice. never a subtle presence, vernon bolted forward and said to the bradley -- benn ofdlie, the former editor the washington post." through.aved ben ben turned and gave one of those smiles and those fist pumps with his right arm. he had beaten the system again. [laughter] hard, final years of his life, his great mind fading, people really took care of him. his beloved wife, sally. that was a real 41 year love

affair. their son. dr. michael newman, a saints in the medical profession, and carmen, their housekeeper. not chronologically, but in somerset and some very clear ways, this marks the end of the 20th century. he is gone. diminished ande the world is smaller. i will never forget the leadership and the smile of this man we love so much.

♪ >> ♪ ave maria

gratia plena. maria, gratia plena maria, gratia plena ave, ave dominus, dominus tecum. benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus et benedictus fructus ventris,

ventris tui, jesus. ave maria. mater dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, ora, ora pro nobis;

ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis, in hora mortis nostrae. in hora, hora mortis nostrae, in hora mortis nostrae.

ave maria ♪ >> part of ben bradlie's

incomparable charm is that he was ready to say anything to anyone. but he was meticulous in his outrageousness. our in-house grammarian told a secretaryen's approaching him. dickhead one-word or two?" [laughter] ben was immensely funny. at our conferences, he would trade insults,s, and confide gossip about washington. if you were to sentimental making a story pitch, he would

play a violin. he went on too long, he would roll his eyes or put his hands to his throat in a choking motion. if you did not have the story, he told you to go get it. being an editor is often mundane, exhausting work. fun.ade it seem cool, even. tried sonder we all desperately to be like him. who hatedough man lies and weakness. he could also be gentle and protective. many of us remember getting in trouble, making mistakes, or being under public attack, and having been's -- having ben stride across the newsroom and say something obscene, and we knew instantly that everything would be fine.

knowing his passion for all things french, sally organized his 90th birthday at builder ray -- 90th birthday. during his birthday dinner, he kneeled over and we thought, is ?his it an ambulance rushed to the hospital. by the time it arrived, he was chattering away in his perfect french with french nurses as sally was glowering with a look that said, i told you he would be fine. [laughter] the finalerything, in graceful years of his life, she was right. french --eceived the in 2007, i gave a toast, recalling the movie casablanca and the way it presented one of life's great dilemmas. thed you rather be

resistance hero in the white suit who strived to the podium -- or rick,and says playeduish saloon keeper by humphrey bogart who stands in the shadows in his tux ito and nods his approval? -- tux and nods his approval? ben was both. the rogue in the corner who made it cool and glamorous and real. future journalists should ask themselves with us, what would ben do?

>> i am the outlier here. i'm from new york. in 1973, i was a young correspondent assigned to cover the white house and watergate. i thought i brought with me a pretty good reputation as a political reporter in california. i covered the rise of ronald reagan. 1968, eugene mccarthy and bobby kennedy, the night bobby kennedy was killed, that is seared in my memory. year,o and miami that chavez, the antiwar movement, the nixon fundraising apparatus. i knew him before he was.

there was a lot of skepticism about whether i was up for the job. on about a month of being the white house lawn, morning, night, then put his said that we and knew what you are doing. it was the beginning of a great friendship, only deepened when he married my friend sally and the two of them produced my man. this is a great personal privilege. i have been thinking a lot about the words that have been written and spoken about them in the past couple of weeks, including mine. help -- wereent or heartfelt they may have been, they were somehow in adequate to the pleasure of knowing him, is a physical experience, to be a met magnetic energy

field he brought into any room that he entered. this defined him as much as those shirts we have been hearing about these days. before sally, he just in shambles. it came out of his pedigree, a pedigree he was proud of, the but he always wore brent -- likely. -- blankly. think i amd, if you cocky now, you should have known s had four "eradlee 's" at the end of our name.

the bradlee may have somehow missed a beat off their line. f might have come off as scott fitzgerald, but that would have been inappropriate. there was nothing fictional about then. personality, his accomplishments, his instincts, and his love for everything in life. there are so many stories about then and we have been hearing about them this morning. was in the late 60's or early 70's, he joined a softball team. he immediately had a sharp hit to right field. he noticed the right fielder was not hustling, so, stretching a si